Partners

Partnership Vision and Goals

A collaborative partnership among Michigan Tech, Gogebic Community College (GCC), West Shore Community College (WSCC), eight industrial partners, and three nonprofit organizations will work cohesively to provide ExLENT participants with an accessible and comprehensive experiential training program in Mechatronics. All collaborators on this project have articulation agreements through either sub-awards or letters of collaboration. The shared vision of all partners is to provide ExLENT participants with experiential opportunities in advanced Mechatronics technology fields, advance professional development required for a 21st century workforce, and demonstrate the job outlook for a career in Mechatronics.

Partner Roles and Responsibilities

Michigan Technological University is a public university committed to providing quality engineering, science, business, technology, communication, and forestry education. Michigan Tech is rated highly for academics, career preparation, and quality of life in the Princeton Review's Best 388 Colleges 2023 Edition, ranking in the "top 50 best value" colleges and #6 on the list of "top 20 best career placement" among public institutions. Michigan Tech is ranked in the top tier of national universities according to the US News & World Report's "Best National University Rankings." Employers, especially in Michigan, consistently rely on Michigan Tech to deliver high-quality experiential educational opportunities. That is why Michigan Tech students average five interviews before graduation and have a 94% job placement rate.

West Shore Community College (WSCC) is a public, rural community college located in Scottville, MI. WSCC was established in 1967 to primarily serve Ludington and Manistee's communities. The actual service region of the institution extends into the rural and economically deprived areas of Lake, Oceana, and Newaygo counties. Serving an enrollment of just under 1,000 students, WSCC offers a wide variety of associate degrees and certificates for both occupational and transfer purposes. WSCC has an excellent reputation within the surrounding communities and is blessed by strong local support. Multiple local businesses have approached WSCC to request a mechatronics curriculum. Such outreach is evidence of the trust these institutions place in the college and that few alternative educational options exist within the area. The major universities closest to WSCC are Ferris State University (62 miles away) and Central Michigan University (107 miles away).

Gogebic Community College (GCC) is a public, rural community college located in Ironwood, MI, with an off-site location located in Houghton, MI, near Michigan Tech. GCC offers over 40 academic programs and remains the great community asset it has been since its beginning in 1932. GCC’s main goals are to advance students' careers through the attainment of a technical certificate or degree in one of many high-demand fields, support personal enrichment or workforce development, and enable transfer to a four-year institution. GCC supports continued economic growth throughout the region by partnering with local businesses and industries to develop highly skilled employees of the future. GCC is committed to the best education with experienced educators and the use of cutting-edge technology and training.

Technology Development Center: Faculty from Michigan Tech will be focused on developing the technology (Phase I) to provide accessible and comprehensive mechatronics education via Mechatronics Educational Portals (MEP) and provide experiential, hands-on training opportunities on state-of-the-art industrial equipment for ExLENT participants. The MEP will provide the foundational knowledge in five critical areas of mechatronics: robotics, mechanical, electrical and controls, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. Project participants will be immersed in a five-week, remote, self-paced training utilizing the MEP's advanced educational materials and tools. Upon completing the MEP training, the participants will participate in one-week practical training at Michigan Tech laboratories (Phase II), where the knowledge obtained via the MEP will be reinforced with hands-on activities in all five critical areas of Mechatronics.

Technology Implementation Center: After the development of the modules, Michigan Tech, West Shore, and Gogebic community colleges will pilot the educational materials and tools by incorporating the entire modules or selected topics in their mechatronics curricula. This will provide an excellent formative evaluation tool allowing project PIs to make necessary modifications to the developed MEP curricula. All three institutions will coordinate with their respective Industry Clusters on the participants’ site visits at advanced industrial facilities in the Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan to provide an industry-oriented outlook in Mechatronics (Phase III).

Industry Cluster: Industry clusters provide site visits to demonstrate the applications of the MEP to ExLENT participants. Furthermore, the Industry Cluster visits will expand the network of ExLENT participants. Descriptions of each of the Industry Cluster members are as follows:

• MTEC Smart Zone is a nonprofit business and technology incubator in Houghton-Hancock, Michigan focused on business acceleration and outreach in advanced technology fields.
• Calumet Electronics is an electronics parts manufacturer that serves the aerospace, medical, defense, and industrial sectors.
• Orbion Space Technologies manufacturers fully integrated Hall-effect propulsion systems through their advanced automated assembly and vacuum propulsion testing facilities.
• REL, Inc. designs and manufactures automated fluorescent penetrant inspection systems and split Hopkinson pressure bars using Mechatronics equipment controlled by PLCs.
• Upper Peninsula Michigan Works is dedicated to supporting businesses in the Upper Peninsula by providing business and job opportunities in high-technology fields.
• Burton Electronics Manufacturing is an advanced electronics assembler aiming to zero defects, on-time delivery, and competitive costs for its customers.
• Ironwood Plastics focuses on solving difficult projects in the industry with an emphasis on inserting molding and engineered materials through a comprehensive yet flexible facility.
• GS Engineering is focused on fabricating lightweight structures, correlation of analysis and simulation to test data, and systems integration for ground vehicles and aircraft.
• The Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance is a nonprofit local economic development organization that aims to engage community leaders to start, retain, grow, and attract companies in the Upper Peninsula.
• FloraCraft manufactures foam products for the craft and floral industries by providing excellence in products, diversity in thought and deed, and superior supply chain management.
• MetalWorks is a metals manufacturer in northern Michigan with 175,000 sq feet of manufacturing space focused on built-to-order and lean manufacturing.